Subscribe To: www.americanmonarch.blogspot.com

Monday, June 26, 2017

When FBI agent Jane Hawk's husband inexplicably kills himself, she wants to know why. After some digging, she discovers that a lot of people have been taking their own lives lately, people who by all accounts had no apparent reason for ending them prematurely. Knowing she could be signing her own death warrant, Jane puts her career and life on the line to find out who's behind this wave of suicides. Billed as the first in a new series, this gripping thriller grabs readers from the first few pages and sweeps them along to the rousing finale. Long an A-list best-seller, Koontz has always delivered the goods, whether he's tackling science fiction, horror, or thrillers (notably the Odd Thomas series). That varied bibliography now adds a new series and an exciting new heroine. Expect the usual clamor for copies among the faithful, who are certain to embrace Jane Hawk immediately and eagerly await the next installment.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: As he testifies in a letter to his readers prefacing the ARC of The Silent Corner, Koontz was enthralled by his new character and felt renewed as a writer by creating her. Readers will be equally enthralled, helped along by a "Blockbuster National Marketing & Publicity Campaign."

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

"In this riveting sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller, Maestra, femme fatale Judith Rashleigh once again leads readers into the mesmerizing and dangerous underworld of Europe's glamorous elite. Since opening her own art gallery in Venice, Judith Rashleigh--now Elisabeth Teerlinc--can finally stop running. She's got the paycheck, lifestyle, and wardrobe she always dreamed of, not to mention the interest of a Russian billionaire. But when a chance encounter in Ibiza leads to a corpse that is, for once, not her own doing, she finds her life is back on the line--and she's more alone than ever. It seems Judith's become involved with more than just one stolen painting, and there is someone else willing to kill for what's theirs. From St. Moritz toSerbia, Judith again finds herself maneuvering the strange landscapes of wealth, but this time there's far more than her reputation at stake. How far will Rage take Judith? Far enough to escape death? The second installment in an unforgettable trilogy,Domina is the next sexy, ruthless, and decadent thriller from mastermind L. S. Hilton, and an adventure that will push Judith further than even she imagined she could go"-- Provided by publisher.

Bilton (special correspondent, Vanity Fair; Hatching Twitter) has written the first and definitive account of the Dark Web drug bazaar known as the Silk Road. Thanks to his access to trial transcripts, web postings of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, and interviews with government players and friends of Ulbricht, this book brims with fascinating detail. It alternates between accounts of baffled federal agents trying to identify the ghostly "Dread Pirate Roberts," Ulbricht's online persona, and his Libertarian upbringing and actions. Bilton excels in showing how Ulbricht, otherwise undistinguished professionally, recognized that warring government agencies, including corrupt agents, were unable to police the anonymous reaches of the Internet. Hiring worldwide help to run a marketplace in drugs, guns, and human organs, Ulbricht could demonstrate his superiority, change society, and get rich in Bitcoin. This deeply researched book is a pleasure to read and a nightmare foretold for law enforcement. VERDICT Highly recommended for true crime and technology fans.â"Harry Charles, St. Louis

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

*Starred Review* Secret love and the suggestion of something unearthly moving in the Essex Blackwater drive the intricate plot of this atmospheric historical novel about Cora Seaborne, a widow visiting Colchester with her companion, ostensibly to explore the estuary for fossils. A medieval "winged serpent" myth still holds the inhabitants of Aldwinter in thrall, despite the best efforts of the local rector, Will Ransome; and as Perry's second novel (following After Me Comes the Flood, 2015) wends its way through mysterious disappearances, fog-laden visions, suspicion, and tragedy, it seems as if the monster is real. The vivid, often frightening imagery (the Leviathan, a shack sinking in the bog, the scrape of scales moving up the shingle) and the lush descriptions ("stained glass angels had the wings of jays") create a magical background for the sensual love story between Sarah and Will. Book-discussion groups will have a field day with the imagery, the well-developed characters, and the concepts of innocence, evil, and guilt. Like Lauren Groff's The Monsters of Templeton (2008), the appearance of a sea monster sheds more light on humanity than on natural history, while the sudden revelation of a creature of the deep heralds change and revelation, as in Jim Lynch's The Highest Tide